For the Sake of a Friend
by rurousha
Summary: A bet lost to Duke Devlin has left Bakura in an awkward situation.


Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh. I just get a kick out of it.

Implied spoilers for the end of the series.

* * *

**For the Sake of a Friend**

* * *

Duke Devlin smirked as the last of Bakura's heart points disappeared, and Bakura shoulders slouched forward in defeat. The two were playing a table-top version of Dungeon Dice Monsters at the end of class since everyone had already finished their assignments. Yugi, Joey, Tristan, and Tea sat around them to watch the game. Bakura had held up admirably for the first few rounds, but he had only started playing the game recently and really didn't stand a chance against its creator.

"You lost, Bakura. So don't forget, tomorrow…"

"I remember the bet, Duke. And I'll hold up my end." Bakura was staring intently at his own hands, but his voice held firm.

"What is it with you and playing dress-up, Devlin?" Joey snapped at the dice master. Apparently, he was still sore about the whole dog costume thing.

Bakura didn't hear the response because Yugi pulled his attention away.

"You really shouldn't let him bully you like that," he said. "Why'd you challenge him anyway?"

"I just wanted to play," Bakura told the vertically challenged Game King in the chair next to him. "I didn't think he would require we bet on it."

"It's Duke Devlin," Tea joined in. "He _only_ plays if he's going to get something out of it."

Bakura just shrugged.

The bell rang, interrupting the fight that was about to break out between Joey, Tristan, and Duke. The three immediately forgot their argument and dashed for the door. Yugi gave Bakura one last sympathetic look before saying his own goodbyes and leaving with Tea and the rest of their class.

Bakura took the time to neatly put his notes and textbook in his bag before pulling it onto his shoulders.

He spent his walk home in a dazed silence. He even nearly ran into a streetlight because he wasn't looking forward properly. At his door, Bakura fumbled with his keys for a few minutes before he was finally able to get into the apartment. And it wasn't until he closed the door behind him that he was able to form a single word in reaction to the mess he was in.

"Shite."

* * *

Bakura missed the spirit of the Millennium Ring sometimes.

Whenever he caught himself thinking this, he was struck by how odd it was. He had never even really met or spoken to the spirit. He had not even started to realize he was there until he had been possessed for several months. It was several months still until he could feel the spirit's presence as a constant. But after nearly two years of having the feeling of someone's eyes always being on you, its removal made him feel somewhat lonely.

Bakura felt it quite strongly the next morning as he got dressed.

The spirit was a thief and a murderer, but, for all his faults, he was brave and did not let anyone play him for a fool. Bakura knew that this would never have happened if he still had the Millennium Ring. Not only would the Thief King have beaten Devlin, but he would never have allowed himself in such a ridiculous situation to begin with.

Bakura sighed and looked at himself in his bathroom mirror. Noticing a wrinkle, he smoothed down his skirt.

His skirt.

A girl's school uniform.

Why _did_ Devlin like to play dress-up so much?

* * *

Luckily, no one looked at him oddly on his walk to school. They probably all thought he was a girl. Bakura understood that his long hair and effeminate face made the uniform a little redundant.

Even so, it was uncomfortable. The top bunched around his torso, and the skirt was far too short. It barely covered enough leg to keep him from feeling indecent. Honestly, what did girls do during winter? The stockings really could not be enough to keep them warm.

Bakura stopped in front of the gates to Domino High and took a deep breath.

"Well, no point in delaying it. Let's go."

They were not even trying to be subtle with the laughing.

"Hey, Bakura, nice legs!" A group guffawed at their friend's comment. Someone else gave a catcall.

"Are you even wearing anything under that, Bakura? 'Cause, you coulda fooled me."

(Bakura then caught sight of a couple girls faint next to their lockers, but he was pretty sure that was unrelated.)

"Just as pretty as I thought you'd be, 'Kura!" That was the Duke himself. Bakura kept his eyes on the tiles of the hallway and tried to fight the blush that was heating everything from his neck to his ears.

The laughs and whistles followed him to his locker where Joey caught up to him.

"Don't worry 'bout them, Bakura," he said. "If I didn't already know you were a guy, I'd totally do you."

If possible, Bakura just turned redder and attempted to bury his head in his locker. "Joey, that's not actually helping."

"Err.. yeah," the blond muttered awkwardly as he avoided looking at his albino friend. "That sounded a lot dumber out my mouth than it did in my head."

"How could you tell the difference between that and everything else you say?" asked a familiar voice.

Bakura had never been so happy to see Kaiba. Joey promptly became distracted with arguing with the teenage CEO and allowed Bakura to escape unnoticed.

* * *

While Joey and Kaiba may have missed Bakura, the entire rest of his first period class did not.

"Finally showing your true colors, Bakura?"

Most of the students seemed to forgo any further comments and were content with just giggles and odd looks as Bakura took his seat.

This presented a problem.

If he sat normally, anyone could just see up his skirt. But it did not take long to realize that it was very tiring to sit while pressing his knees together. He would have to cross his legs.

_Bash_!

Bakura had to bite on his tongue to avoid cursing as he rubbed his knee where he had banged it on the underside of the desk. His legs were too long to cross under the desk. How did girls do this?!

Bakura tried to not growl as he pressed his knees together and resigned himself to having no feeling in his legs by the end of the class.

Joey chose then to run into class and dive for his desk, a sure sign that…

_Btzzzz_!

… the tardy bell was about to ring. Joey sighed in relief and sank into his chair. Then he looked two seats over to Bakura and said, "Hey, you seen Yugi yet?"

The seat between them was indeed empty. Bakura shook his head.

Joey pestered Tea nearby to see if she knew where Yugi was. She gave another negative response. Joey was about to ask Kaiba if he had taken to kidnapping again when the teacher walked in and everyone immediately stopped talking.

"Class," she said as she set her folder on her desk, "after the morning announcements, we are – _Mister Bakura_, why on earth are you wearing a girl's uniform?"

The snickers started up again.

"Umm…" Bakura had not thought of this. How was he supposed to explain what he was doing without making it sound like he was blaming or complaining about Duke Devlin? "Well, I…"

"Sorry, Miss Jacobs," came a soft voice from the still-open classroom door, "but there is no school rule saying a boy can't wear a girl's uniform."

There stood Yugi, wearing knee-high stockings, a pink blouse with blue bow around the neck, and a blue pleated skirt. And he was grinning like he just won Duelist Kingdom all over again.

Whispers and giggles erupted in the classroom, and Bakura's jaw hit his desktop. Tristan was laughing so hard that he was pounding his fist on his desk, and Joey was practically crying. Tea had gone so red that Bakura was sure she would get a nose bleed soon.

Yugi just bowed politely and walked over to his desk, between Bakura and Joey. The blond got his laughter under control enough to slug his best friend in the shoulder.

The teacher just sputtered until the announcements came on over the speakerphone. While the principal went through the daily school news, Bakura leaned over to Yugi and whispered, "Thank you."

Yugi looked over at his friend and nodded, giving one of those bright smiles that only he could give.

The students calmed down after the announcements and Miss Jacobs was able to begin her lesson.

Three minutes into class, Bakura heard a _bash_ and looked over to see Yugi rubbing his knee and biting back a curse. He smiled, laughed softly, and turned back to his notes.

* * *

The end.

* * *

Yugi may seem all confident here, but I bet that the second he got home, his face went so red that steam came out his ears.

Inspired by the first episode of Revolutionary Girl Utena, which I saw at Sakura Con. I attempted humor and fluff, and this is what came out.

I'm not really a fan of cross-dressing (the whole Fruits Basket's Yuki in a dress was a bit much for me), but I thought this was too cute to pass up.

Where did Bakura and Yugi get the uniforms? Who knows? Tea, maybe.

Where's Kaiba during all this? Sitting in the back, rolling his eyes.


End file.
